SEX WORK AND THE LAW - HIV/AIDS Data Hub

7.3 Kiribati
Legal
SEX WORK IN
PRIVATE
Illegal
SOLICITING
Illegal
BROTHELS
Sex work is not illegal; however, police may detain sex workers on public order offences.
The term ainen matawa refers to women and girls who board foreign fishing vessels and
engage in sex for money and goods with seafarers. When women and girls board private
fishing vessels, police are unable to arrest or detain them for offences such as public
disorder, loitering or drunkenness, as they are not in a public place.
In 2003, the Government of Kiribati banned Korean fishing boats from coming into the
Betio harbour after a Korean newspaper reported girls having sex with Korean fishermen.
In 2005, a South Korean government team visited Kiribati and concluded that parents
encouraged their daughters because they received US dollars, fish, and expensive items.
Once the ban was lifted in 2006, the practice of Kiribati women and girls selling sex to
seafarers continued. 621
UNICEF report evidence that the ainen matawa are becoming more organized as a
community. UNICEF researchers found that the ainen matawa had several organizations,
that their movements were guided by information on ship schedules and that they were
in communication with police. 622
In 2010, McMillan and Worth 623 conducted qualitative research into the context of HIV
vulnerability and risk for i-Kiribati women who engage in sex work on board foreign boats.
Interview data were gathered from 25 women. McMillan and Worth estimated there to
be approximately 130 ainen matawa in 2010. They also found that there is an additional,
separate population of sex workers who do not board fishing vessels. 624 The study
highlighted the need for protections from violence perpetrated by police and others to
reduce women’s vulnerability to HIV:
The participants’ narratives indicate that identification as an ainen matawa renders
the women vulnerable to violence from family, sexual abuse from local men and
local boatmen, and sometimes deters them from laying complaints with the police
when these assaults occur…Women who are identified as ainen matawa suffer from
marginalisation and discrimination. 625
621 UNICEF (2010) I feel I can never get infected, Understanding HIV and AIDS risk and vulnerability among
Kiribati islands youth. UNICEF EAPRO, p.95.
622 UNICEF (2010) ibid., p.58.
623 McMillan K., Worth H. (2010) Risky Business Kiribati: HIV prevention amongst women who board foreign
fishing vessels to sell sex. International HIV Research Group, UNSW, Sydney.
624 Ibid., and see: Tabureka I. (2008) Sex trade, well organized illegal activity on Tarawa. Available at: http://
www.kango.org.ki/Views%20Features%20Analysis.php
625 McMillan K., Worth H. (2010) op cit. p.7.
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